Andrew Van Ginkel provided the exclamation point last weekend as the Vikings put the finishing touches on a dominant 28-6 win over the New York Giants. He read a screen pass to perfection before the snap, snatched an interception out of midair near the line of scrimmage and raced 10 yards the other way for a touchdown.

As meaningful as the moment was for Van Ginkel in his debut with the Vikings, it might have been even more meaningful to his community of Rock Valley, Iowa. Though the small town of roughly 4,000 people isn’t necessarily ripe with Vikings fans, they are extremely loyal to their own, especially Van Ginkel, after the way he stepped up when they needed him most.

After catastrophic flooding devastated Rock Valley this summer, Van Ginkel sprung into action to help the small town that raised him.

“I had a lot of family and friends who were affected,” said Van Ginkel, who lives in Rock Valley in the offseason with his wife Samantha and their sons Leo and Ripken. “Just seeing a lot of them hurting and struggling it was very important for me to help.”

All of the destruction caused by the flooding wasn’t for a lack of preparation on the part of mayor Kevin Van Otterloo.

The small town experienced major flooding nearly a decade ago, so Van Otterloo tried to prepare Rock Valley for the worst. As conditions started to worsen, he made an effort to fortify the levee with sandbags, enlisting local football players, local firefighters, and anybody else who wanted to lend a helping hand.

“Then the rain started to come down,” Van Otterloo said. “We just couldn’t keep the water out.”

It was unprecedented.

The streets started to flood in the middle of the night and residents scrambled for higher ground. The scene that sticks with city administrator Tom Van Maanen looking back on it is seeing nearly 50 payloaders driving around Rock Valley rescuing people from their homes.

There were 500 homes affected in total along with dozens of local businesses that might never be the same.

“This wasn’t just a flood,” Van Maanen said. “This was complete devastation.”

This image provided by Sioux County Sheriff shows City of Rock Valley, Iowa on Saturday, June 22, 2024. Gov. Kim Reynolds sent helicopters to the small town to evacuate people from flooded homes Saturday, the result of weeks of rain, while much of the United States longed for relief from yet another round of extraordinary heat.(Sioux County Sheriff via AP)

So many homes destroyed. So many memories lost. So many people left searching for answers.

A glimmer of hope emerged in the aftermath as Rock Valley rallied together to pick up the pieces.

There were farmers essentially going door to door in their payloaders to help haul debris to the landfill. There were local churches offering to cook meals for volunteers. There were skilled laborers driving in from the surrounding area to pitch in wherever they were needed.

“This is the way it is in Northwest Iowa,” Van Otterloo said. “They come from everywhere.”

That included Van Ginkel. He was in the Twin Cities when the flood occurred and immediately drove down to help. Whether it was cleaning out homes destroyed by water damage or providing food for volunteers in the area, Van Ginkel did whatever he could to make an impact.

“They could’ve easily dealt with their own and been done,” Van Maanen said. “You saw him all over the place helping people wherever they needed it. He was there with everybody else mucking stuff out of people’s basements. That’s leadership by example as far as I’m concerned.”

Maybe the biggest thing Van Ginkel did was partner with Mercy Chefs, a nonprofit that specializes in providing meals for victims of natural disasters. They set up shop at Faith Reformed Church and got to work churning out roughly 5,000 meals on a daily basis.

“Just wanted to help out and provide resources however I could,” Van Ginkel said. “There were a lot of people struggling.”

The meals weren’t just providing sustenance for the volunteers. They were feeding the soul of Rock Valley.

“I think they were here for almost a month,” Van Otterloo said. “It was unbelievable. I’d never seen anything like it. If it hadn’t been for Andrew and Samantha, I’m not sure we would’ve got through this.”

As inspiring as it was to see Rock Valley to come together a few months ago, Van Otterloo made it clear that there is still so much work to be done.

“It’s going to be a few years before we get back to halfway normal,” Van Otterloo said. “No matter what it’s never going to be the same.”

Those that want to help can donate to Friends of Rock Valley online either via PayPal or Venmo. The donations will be distributed to the people in Rock Valley affected by the flooding.

As for Van Ginkel, he’s doing his part, as well. He recently set up Van Ginkel Impact Foundation and plans to continue to help with relief effort in Rock Valley for as long as it’s needed.

“Just trying to make an impact on people’s lives,” Van Ginkel said. “I want to help out in any way possible.”

He’s doing that even when he doesn’t know it.

“We’re immensely proud of Andrew and everything he’s accomplished,” Van Maanen said. “I saw his interception returned for a touchdown was shared all over on Facebook. It put a smile on a lot of people’s faces down here and those types of distractions are nice. It’s good for us to experience some joy.”

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As veteran running back Aaron Jones stood on the sidelines last weekend at MetLife Stadium, he figured he probably wasn’t going to touch the field again. At that point, the Vikings were already well on their way to a 28-6 win over the New York Giants, so Jones assumed reserve running back Myles Gaskin would get the nod for the final series of the game.

That changed when Jones saw Gaskin run back toward the sidelines.

After a dominant closing stretch with the Green Bay Packers last season, Jones came to the Vikings this season having rushed for more than 100 yards in five straight games. There was a chance to make it six straight games with Jones closing in on 100 yards late in the game between the Vikings and Giants.

Those types of milestones are important to players, and coach Kevin O’Connell knows it. So coming out of a stoppage, he decided to give Jones one more carry to go over the century mark. Unfortunately for Jones, he only gained a yard on the play, and he finished with 14 carries for 94 yards.

“I really respect Kevin for that,” Jones said. “He left me in there.”

The fact that O’Connell was willing to do that meant something to Jones.

“I’d like to thank him for that,” Jones said. “That was special.”

Though he didn’t go over 100 yards against the Giants, Jones is hoping to do so against the San Francisco 49ers this weekend. That would be the start of a new streak for him

“We’ve got 16 games left,” Jones said. “Hopefully I get it 16 games in a row.”

Addison misses practice again

It’s not looking good for receiver Jordan Addison as he continues to work through an ankle injury. He did not practice on Thursday afternoon, and his availability for this weekend seems to be very much up in the air.

It will be interesting to see how the Vikings decide to list Addison on Friday afternoon when they are required to give an injury designation. If Addison is ruled out for the game between the Vikings and the 49ers, speedy receiver Jalen Nailor will likely start opposite Justin Jefferson.

The only other player on the Vikings that did not practice on Thursday afternoon was veteran safety Harrison Smith (hip), while center Garrett Bradbury (knee), right tackle Brian O’Neill (elbow), and edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel (foot) were listed as limited participants.

McCarthy listed as limited

As the Vikings prepare for the 49ers, they are likely keeping a watchful eye on the status of running back Christian McCaffrey. He surprisingly was ruled out on Monday night after entering the game between the 49ers and New York Jets listed as questionable.

Technically, McCaffrey was listed as a limited participant on Thursday afternoon. The fact that he’s dealing with an Achilles injury is likely the biggest reason the 49ers are being cautious with him. They have Super Bowl aspirations down the road, so it makes sense not to rush McCaffrey back before he’s 100 percent.

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The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation will begin its 75th anniversary celebration Friday with a gala at The Armory in Minneapolis as part of a weekend featuring special guests and speakers, musical performances and workshops.

Emceed by actor Rob Lowe, Friday’s featured guests at the invite-only event include Famous Dave’s founder Dave Anderson and honorary event chair Susan Ford Bales, daughter of former President Gerald Ford and former First Lady Betty Ford.

The event, called the “Still Breaking Through” gala, will include a reception and dinner, as well as speakers’ stories of recovery and support to others, said Moira McGinley, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation vice president and chief transformation officer.

The event will celebrate the legacy of the organization and those who came before, McGinley said.

Groundbreaking, Dan Anderson, Pat Butler, 1964, Center City, Used in Together Magazine Spring 2019. (Courtesy of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.)

“But even more than that, it’s about the future and it’s about those individuals who are still in communities, still suffering in isolation, who have the opportunity to still get help. And we have a lot of plans as we move forward to help individuals,” McGinley said.

Weekend events include an anniversary lunch, additional musical performances, an alumni panel and a book signing.

Founded in 1949 in Center City as the Hazelden Foundation, the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation provides addiction recovery services to approximately 25,000 patients and family members annually, according to McGinley.

First Lady Betty Ford visited Hazelden before starting the Betty Ford Center, which opened in 1982 in California and in 2014 merged with the Hazelden Foundation.

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The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation has an outpatient drug and mental health treatment center at 680 Stewart Avenue in St. Paul. The center provides services such as recovery coaching, a sober living community and parallel support for family members of patients. The Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School also holds some classes and internship opportunities at the St. Paul campus.

Many end up staying in St. Paul and Minnesota after receiving recovery services here, in part because of the strong community and fellowship in the area, such as other Hazelden Betty Ford alumni, McGinley said.

“With the disease of addiction, it’s really about isolation, and the healing comes with community and connectedness. So building these really strong communities is essential for someone to have lifelong, long-term recovery,” McGinley said.

The foundation has been an innovator and leader in recovery and continues to be, McGinley said. It’s working to enhance its individualized mental health services and build services for family members and children of patients, as well as its post-treatment support options and alumni network, McGinley said.

While the event celebrates the past 75 years, the foundation also is looking forward.

“This celebration is really about 75 years of recovery, 75 years of innovation and really helping people find hope,” McGinley said.

To learn more about the celebration, visit hazeldenbettyford.org/75th-anniversary.

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